Częstochowa

Currently the city is one of the main tourist attractions of the area and is sometimes called the little Nuremberg because of the number of souvenir shops. It attracts millions (4.5 mln - 2005) of tourists and pilgrims every year. The Black Madonna of Częstochowa, housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery, is a particularly popular attraction.

Throughout the centuries, many buildings have been erected, most of them now have status of tourist attractions and historical monuments since Częstochowa was established already in the Middle Ages. Among those attractions are old townhouses and the urban core of the city centre. The most popular with religious tourism as mentioned above is the Jasna Góra Monastery.

The main representative artery in the city centre is the Najświętszej Maryi Panny Avenue (The Holy Virgin Mary Avenue). It was first built in the beginning of the 19th century, as a road linking Częstochowa with New Częstochowa, cities which were administratively merged in 1826. The most characteristic feature of the avenue is its layout, whereby the lanes are separated by the pedestrianised boulevard. During the pilgrimage period, the Avenues are used by pilgrims heading for Jasna Góra Monastery. The avenues are 1.5 km long and 44 m wide; primarily they perform trade, service, financial and cultural functions. The housing consists mostly of classicist, late-classicist houses, rarely eclectic. More modern buildings can also be noticed. The most interesting townhouses include:

• Franke's House – in the beginning it belonged to Adolf Franke, a Lutheran hailing from Greater Poland and also an owner of a spinning mill and textile mill. It was being built between 1901 and 1903. Between 1918 and 1939, Hotel 'Victoria' was located there. During World War II, it lay on the border of the Jewish ghetto, which made it the key point for those wanting to escape. After the dismantling of the ghetto, the Franke's House housed German hospital and army hotel, and after the war it was the seat of the High School of Arts and a bursary. Eclectic with prevailing neo-renaissance features.

• Zapalkiewicz's House is classicist townhouse, built in 1871. It was the seat of a theatre, which was functioning until 1908. Later, until 1923, there was a cinema "Paryskie" and subsequently a number of financial institution have had their branches in the building.
• Mercantile Townhouse - eclectic townhouse, was being built between 1894 and 1907. At the beginning business and economics courses were taking place there. Before the World War 2, it was the seat of Warsaw Industrial Bank and Częstochowa Savings and Loans Bank.
• Kohn's House is a neo-classicist townhouse, built in 1865. Before the war, a number of enterprises were operating in the building, including Bankers, Jackowski's Restaurant and Cafe, and Bata's Shoe Shop and between 1909 and 1930 a cinema called "Odeon".
• Polish Bank's Townhouse is an art nouveau townhouse, built in 1904. In the beginning, it was the seat of a local branch of the Russian State Bank. In 1927, the building was taken over by the Polish Bank Inc. After World War II, it became the property of the Polish National Bank. In 1990, the building was sold to the ING Silesian Bank.
• Biegański's House is a one-storey classicist townhouse built in 1880. Initially, it was owned by Karol Henryk Rosenfeld and later by his son-in-law dr. Władysław Biegański. After the Second World War, the building was a seat of the Częstochowa's Doctors Association.
• Hantke's Palace is an example of Baroque Revival architecture, built to the order of an industrialist and entrepreneur Bernard Hantke, who established the ISD Częstochowa Steel Mill. The palace was built between 1900 and 1903. After WW2, the building was the seat of the Częstochowa Steel Mill Culture Centre.
• Former Orthodox Vicarage - classicist townhouse, built in 1875, until 1918 it was the seat of a local Orthodox priest. In 1918, it was taken over by the local Catholic diocese. After the war, there was a local headquarters of Polish Army. Since the 1970s it has been a property of the Częstochowa Regional Museum.
• Old Square - a square located in the Old Town district with dimensions of 100m by 66m. Since medieval times it operated as the main square of Old Częstochowa. There are still preserved old townhouses, which are listed on the historic monuments register. Between the 15th century and 1812, a town hall was located there, which was then damaged because of a fire. In 2007, archaeological works began. As a result, a city well was found and also fundaments of city facilities such as a weigh house and gallows.
• Wieluńska Street - one of the historic streets in Częstochowa, located in the vicinity of Jasna Góra monastery. It is 300 meters long and the buildings on the street were erected in the late-classicist style in the second half of the 19th century.
• Jasna Góra Parks are two city parks (Stanisław Staszic Park and 3 May Park) located in the city centre, on the slope of Jasna Góra Hill. The parks were established in 1843. The total area of both parks is 11.8 ha. The parks are a popular leisure place and a spot for those enjoying short walks. In 1909, the Great Exhibition of Agriculture and Industry took place in the park, it was attended by 660 exhibitors and 500,000 visitors. In Staszic Park, one can find an astronomical observatory, which was opened in 1909. The parks also accommodate the Iron Ore Museum.
• Ulica 7 Kamienic (7 Townhouses Street) is one of historical streets in Częstochowa. It is 600 metres long; the street was created in the first half of the 19th century. The name derives from the seven houses which had been built at the beginning.
• Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family, Częstochowa - a cathedral built in the neo-gothic style between 1901-1927. In 1925, it became a cathedral of a Roman Catholic Diocese of Częstochowa and in 1992 it became the basilica of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Częstochowa.
• St James' Church - built between 1869 and 1872 under the initiative of a Tsar's representative for Częstochowa region - Parmen Kashernikov. Initially, it was a seat of an Orthodox parish of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In 1914, it became a property of a Catholic church, serving as an army parish church. After the end of First World War, it was retained by the Catholic church as part of the Recovery of Orthodox Churches in the Second Polish Republic. In 1937, the Archdiocese of Częstochowa established a parish of St James.
• St Sigismund's Church - a gothic church built in the 15th century, making it the oldest parish church in Częstochowa.
• St Barbara's Church - built in the 16th century under the initiative of Father Andrzej Gołdonowski from the Pauline Order. The place is linked to the icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. Following the desecration of the icon by robbers in 1430 who left it at a spring next to the current location of church.

File:Częstochowa Aleje NMP.JPG|Maryi Panny Avenue File:Widok z wiezy jasnogorskiej - srodmiescie.jpg|View on the Avenues File:Częstochowa - III Aleja1.jpg|3rd Avenue during the night File:Park Staszica Częstochowa.jpg|Staszic Park File:CzestochowaAlejaSienkiewicza.jpg|Sienkiewicz Avenue